Ghana opt for Zambian province Kitwe

AFTER admiring the beauty of the new Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has settled for Kitwe as the Black Stars’ training base for next month’s crunch 2014 World Cup qualifier against Zambia.

A two-man GFA advance party later inspected hotel and training facilities in Ndola and Kitwe on Sunday before falling in love with Moba Hotel and Arthur Davies Stadium.

Ghana, desperate to banish the memories of their painful 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final loss to Zambia, will camp at Moba Hotel when the Black Stars jet in on June 7 and train at Arthur Davies Stadium.

GFA executive committee member, Felix Amoah-Ansong, flanked by protocol officer Alex Asante, said they were satisfied with the state of the accommodation and training facilities. Amoah-Ansong said in an interview in Ndola yesterday that they inspected three hotels and three training pitches and expressed happiness with their findings.

The Ghanaian officials were impressed with the state of the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium which Amoah-Ansong described as a beautiful structure. “We are satisfied with the stadium and the hotel conditions. We came here to inspect the facilities and we’re happy,” Amoah-Ansong said.

Zambia will host Ghana on June 9 at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium for the second World Cup qualifier after facing Sudan on June 2 in Khartoum.

While the Chipolopolo set up camp in South Africa on Sunday, the Black Stars kicked off their preparations yesterday at Accra Sports Stadium.

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah named a 30-man provisional squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zambia.

During yesterday’s session, all 10 local-based players were expected to report for duty while foreign-based players will join later.

Italy-based midfielder, Sulley Muntari is expected to miss the Accra training camp due to injury.